Seychelles to send captured Somali pirates home

NAIROBI, Kenya - NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - The island nation of Seychelles has reached a deal to begin repatriating captured Somali pirates, officials said Thursday, an agreement that could serve as a model for other countries.

Most suspected pirates detained by navies are released because few countries are willing to take them. Some nations don't want to bear the cost of putting suspects on trial and eventually imprisoning them; others fear that suspects might try to claim asylum.

"This is a very important milestone and a great achievement in our efforts to combat piracy," said Joel Morgan, the Seychelles minister who oversees anti-piracy. "It is the first such agreement signed with any state which allows for the repatriation of convicted Somali pirates back to their country where they can be close to their families and be imprisoned for the remainder of their sentences."

The deal will begin after the U.N. has ensured Somali prisons conform to international standards, said Abdirizak Ahmed, who heads the anti-piracy program in Somalia's semiautonomous northern region.

The agreement between the Seychelles and Somalia's weak U.N.-backed government was signed Wednesday during a U.N.-sponsored conference. Since the Somali administration only controls a few neighborhoods in the capital, separate memorandums of understanding were signed with two administrations in the north of the country. Puntland will take pirates from anywhere in Somalia but the breakaway region of Somaliland will only take those coming from its own territory.

Ahmed says Puntland already has more than 240 pirates in prison. Seychelles has 46 imprisoned pirates, 31 of whom have already been convicted. Twelve other countries are holding 746 pirates.

On Thursday, 28 pirates who attacked two Indian ships were handed over by the Indian navy to the Indian police. They were captured Sunday in the Arabian Sea, about 225 miles (360 kilometers) from the Indian mainland - and much closer to a string of Indian islands.

"We will try them for their action against the Indian ships," said police spokesman Qaiser Khan.

Since pirates have begun launching attacks from captured ships, they have dramatically expanded their range threatening a vast expanse of the Indian Ocean. Attacks are also increasing in number, brutality and organization.

The Gulf of Aden, which connects the Red Sea to the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean beyond, is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and is a prime target for Somali pirates.